Does Ohio need
a new kennel licensing law?

HB 223 and SB 173, the 35-page kennel licensing bills introduced in the Ohio
General Assembly, are being promoted as anti-puppy-mill bills, but what they
really do is label dog breeders as ignorant at best and potential criminals
at worst.

HB 223 and SB 173 license breeders who maintain a kennel of more than eight
breeding dogs, pet stores, and dealers who buy and sell dogs; require criminal
background checks for license applicants; set strict requirements for dog confinement
and care; and place high license fees and insurance or bond mandates on license
applicants.

Both bills describe a breeder as someone who keeps more than eight dogs "primarily
for reproductive purposes" which in turn is described as a female that
has whelped a single litter and a male that has sired a single litter in a calendar
year. Those who have more than eight dogs must prove that they are not required
to be licensed.

Anti-puppy mill activists are pushing for passage of these bills and are using
dubious interpretations of current law and the bills' language to convince Ohioans
that passage is necessary to protect dogs. Ohio Valley Dog Owners Inc. believes
that dogs can be protected by adding simple standards of care to current law
without an elaborate licensing scheme that includes a new state bureaucracy,
a heavy financial burden for kennel owners, loss of the right to determine vaccination
and health care plans for owned dogs, and loss of income for local dog and kennel
funds.

Actually Ohio
already has a kennel licensing law!

Current dog licensing law (Ohio Revised Code 955.02 and 955.04) requires kennel
licenses for those "professionally engaged in the business of breeding
dogs for hunting or for sale." Many hobby breeders with more than five
dogs also purchase kennel licenses because they save money over the cost of
individual licenses.

Activists supporting the bills claim that 11,000 kennels are licensed under
current law and imply that these are breeding kennels with dozens or hundreds
of dogs kept in bad conditions solely for the purpose of making a profit. However,
it is highly likely that the majority of these licenses belong to hobby breeders,
hunters, and small commercial breeders with fewer than a dozen dogs and that
those dogs are kept in adequate or better conditions.

Ohio's kennel
licensing law is administered by counties

All dogs in Ohio must be licensed each year. License fees are set by counties
and the fees are deposited in the county dog and kennel fund. This fund pays
for the county animal control program, i.e., hiring dog wardens, purchasing
trucks and other equipment, and paying for housing for stray and unlicensed
dogs. Kennel licensing fees are generally five times the fee for an individual
dog license. For example, Warren County charges $15 for an individual dog and
$75 for a kennel; Hamilton County charges $13 for an individual dog and $65
for a kennel.

HB 223 and SB 173 collect all kennel licensing fees and kick back at least
$50 of each fee to the county where the kennel is located. The bills set license
fees for breeding kennels as follows:

9-15 dogs, $150 per year;

16-25 dogs, $350 per year;

26-31dogs, $500 per year

More than 31 dogs, $750 per year

In addition to these license fees, applicants with more than 16 breeding dogs
will be required to purchase surety bonds or insurance in amounts ranging from
$5000 to $50,000, depending on the number of dogs they house.

These bills
blend kennel licensing law with animal welfare law

A major purpose for these bills is to merge kennel licensing law with animal
welfare law so that state inspectors have the authority to enter licensed kennels
and check for violations of animal welfare standards. They accomplish this purpose
by placing administration and enforcement in the hands of the state department
of agriculture and requiring local humane agents and dog wardens to report violations
to that agency instead of pursuing the case locally. Ohio animal welfare laws
already require food, water, and shelter and prohibit cruelty, so HB 223/SB173
would duplicate existing law and split enforcement between state and local agencies
depending solely on the number of dogs involved.

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